Plant growing material

ABSTRACT

A growing material for plants comprising a coherent substrate material for including and therein roots of a plant to be supported by the substrate material, wherein in the substrate, locally, provisions ( 4 ) have been embedded which are manufactured from a material impenetrable by roots and are, at least partly, surrounded by material penetrable by roots, thereby forming, locally, embedded, in the substrate for the roots, a layer in the form of a porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier so that during growing the roots are forced to deflect and bend through the porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier, thereby spreading over the substrate material in an optimal manner and growing roots therein more intensively.

The invention relates to a growing material for plants comprising acoherent substrate material penetrable by roots for receiving andsurrounding therein the roots of a plant to be supported by thissubstrate material.

When growing plants it is known, certainly in present-day glasshousehorticulture, to use substrates instead of soil for the root formationof the plants to be cultivated. As material for the substrate rock wool,glass wool, coco material, stone wires, cell foam, fibers et cetera aswell as mixtures of these materials in block shape or mat shape can beconsidered. A condition is, on the one hand, that the substrate materialis sufficiently coherent for supporting the plants and, or the otherhand, that the roots can penetrate the substrate material. The substratematerial should further be such that it can take up water with nutrientsand pass this on to the roots of the plants. Thus, the suppliednutrients can be accurately distributed and regulated. A furtheradvantage is that use can be made of an inert material which is free andcan remain free of any pathogens present in cultivating soil.

With the invention, an improved growing material of the type describedin the preamble is contemplated.

According to the invention this is obtained when in the substrate,locally, provisions have been embedded which are manufactured from amaterial which is impenetrable by the roots and at least partlysurrounded by material which is penetrable by roots, thereby forming,locally, embedded in the substrate for the roots, a layer in the form ofa porous, net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier.

Research has shown that roots in a substrate material have the tendencyto grow straight downwards without or with a limited number of branches,so that at the bottom side of the layer of substrate material a ball ofroots is formed. Further, water supplied to the substrate material alsohas the tendency to drift downwards, so that the situation can arisethat the larger part of the roots of a plant is surrounded by stagnantwater.

By presently, according to the present invention, providing, locally,areas which are impenetrable by the roots, these can no longer growstraight downwards in an unhindered manner, but are forced by thelayer-shaped, porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier to deflectsideways and to bend, which results in several and multiple branchedroots, i.e. the roots spread over a larger area and the substratematerial is penetrated by roots more completely; therefore more or lessaccording to the growth of roots in heterogeneous soil. In fact, thebottom of the substrate block or substrate layer is elevated and madepenetrable locally. The ball of roots initially present on the bottom isnow present above the porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier but itcan penetrate it and then grow perpendicularly downwards according tothe natural pattern, albeit, now, uniformly distributed over the crosssection of the substrate. Due to the larger amount of branched roots in,in particular, the upper part of the substrate material, the volume ofthe substrate to be maximally used, which is used for, for instance,water, nutrient and oxygen uptake by the roots, is considerably enlargedresulting in more abundantly and healthier growing plants, which alsoenhances the productivity of fruit-bearing plants, such as, forinstance, cucumbers.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, in order to optimizethe spreading and branching of roots in transverse direction of thesubstrate, it is preferred that the porous net-shaped or sieve-shapedbarrier has an upper surface extending substantially transverse to themain direction of growth of the roots. Realizing such a porousnet-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier can be done in a relatively simplemanner, when the porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier forms ahorizontal separating layer in the substrate, or, conversely, extendsdownwards in a curving manner from a central crown top into thesubstrate material, it further being preferred that in the area of itscrown top, the porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier is designed soas to be uninterrupted.

For such a branched root growth to be obtained in the substratematerial, the roots should not be able to push aside the impenetrableprovisions. Therefore, if the substrate material does not have anintrinsic securing effect on those provisions, it can be preferredaccording to a further embodiment of the invention, that the provisionsare provided so as to be anchored, at least substantially not movablewithin the substrate material.

The form and manner of growth of the roots can be influenced inaccordance with the desired object when, according to a furtherembodiment of the invention, the impenetrable barrier has been providedin the substrate material as locally distributed, embedded obstacles.With the packing density and distribution of the obstacles, the growthof the roots can then be influenced in the desired manner.

In order to have deflection by blocking the root growth through creationof a mechanical resistance not be a growth impediment but, conversely, astimulation of the spreading and branching, it can be advantageousaccording to a further embodiment of the invention to provide theobstacles with a smooth surface. This effect can be further enhancedwhen the obstacles have a spherical configuration. The obstacles canthen be manufactured from, inter alia, stone. However, according to theinvention, it is particularly preferred that the obstacles consist ofglass pearls. They form highly effective, impenetrable obstacles toroots, which, however, in addition thereto, due to their smoothspherical shape, create optimal circumstances for the root growth totake place in the desired shape, branching out and spreading over thesubstrate material.

In addition, according to a further embodiment of the invention, it isalso possible that the impenetrable barrier is formed from a similarinert material to the substrate, but having a considerably higherdensity, i.e. a density impenetrable by the roots, than the surroundingsubstrate material which is penetrable by the roots.

Instead of a mechanical blocking of the root growth, also a chemicalbarrier can be chosen. According to a further embodiment of theinvention this can be realized when the impenetrable barrier consists ofat least one chemical layer, more in particular a hormone layer. Acombination of mechanical and chemical blocking can also be opted for.The porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier can then consist of aninert material to which a chemical layer, for instance a plant hormone,has been applied.

As stated, the roots have the tendency to grow downwards as rapidly aspossible into the substrate material. In order to undo this tendency asrapidly as possible, according to a further embodiment of the invention,it is in particular preferred that the porous net-shaped or sieve-shapedbarrier is located at least directly below and/or in the proximity of aplant hole provided in the substrate material.

With reference to an exemplary embodiment represented in theaccompanying drawing, the growing material according to the inventionwill presently be elucidated further, albeit exclusively by way of nonlimitative example. In the drawing:

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of a block of growing material according tobe invention; and

FIG. 2 shows a cross section along line II-II in FIG. 1.

In the Figures, a rectangular block 1 of growing material isrepresented, while a substrate material such as, for instance, rockwool, glass wool, coco material, rock wires, cell foam, fibres and thelike can be considered, from which, starting from upper surface la,symmetrically, a smaller rectangular block 2 has been cut, provided inits center with a plant hole 3, in which sowing can take place or inwhich a pressed pot with a germinating plant can be placed for thepurpose of cultivating the plant (further). On the bottom of the recessin the block 1 obtained by cutting out the block 2, a layer of glasspearls 4 is provided whereupon the block 2 with the plant hole 3provided therein is placed back into the block.

During growing, the roots of a plant encounter the layer of glass pearls4 and are forced to grow around those glass pearls 4. This results in abranching and spreading of the roots over the layer of glass pearls 4resulting in a network of roots branching and spreading at the locationof the layer of glass pearls 4, as indicated in FIG. 2 with referencenumeral 5, and which spreads further downwards from this level over theblock 1 through the layer of glass pearls 4. This in contrast with asituation wherein the layer of glass pearls 4 would have been omitted.Then, the roots would grow downwards substantially without or withhardly any branches to the lower side of the block 1 and there, haltedby the support layer (not represented) onto which the block 1 has beenplaced, spread sideways, as indicated in FIG. 2 with reference numeral5′.

As water has the tendency to drift downwards in such a substratematerial, a root network 5′ would then be surrounded by water, whichwould negatively affect the desired oxygen uptake by the roots. Due tothe layer of glass pearls 4, a root network 5 is obtained which alreadyhas multiple branches at a higher level and has spread more over theblock 1. As a result, it is possible to use the volume of the substrateas optimally as possible for, for instance, uptake of water, nutrientsand oxygen by the roots, resulting in a more abundant and healthiergrowing plant, which also enhances the productivity of fruit-bearingplants, such as, for instance, cucumbers.

It is self-evident that within the framework of the invention as laiddown in the accompanying claims, in addition to the already describedvariants, many further modifications and variants are possible. Forinstance, the impenetrable provisions can be composed from obstacles.Also, combinations of mechanical and chemical obstacles are possible.Although in the exemplary embodiment a single layer of glass pearls isrepresented, such layers can also be provided on several levels. Theselayers need not, as shown, have a flat configuration but can also be ofcurved design, for instance partly spherical or elliptical with thecrown centrally below the ball of roots coming from the plant.Naturally, it is also possible to realize the porous net-shaped orsieve-shaped barrier in another manner than by applying a layer of glasspearls. Also, other manners of realization than cutting the block fromanother block are possible. For instance, composing a block of growingmaterial from successive layers can be considered. In the exemplaryembodiment, a layer of glass pearls is shown extending over a relativelylarge area. However, also other uses are conceivable in which theapplication of such a layer or a similar layer with a smaller size, forinstance only at the location of the plant hole, are a possibility.

1. A growing material for plants comprising a coherent substratematerial penetrable by roots for including and surrounding therein rootsof a plant to be supported by the substrate material, characterized inthat, locally, in the substrate, provisions have been embedded which aremanufactured from a material impenetrable by roots, and, at leastpartly, are surrounded by material penetrable by roots, thereby forming,locally, embedded in the substrate for the roots, a layer in the form ofa porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier.
 2. A growing materialaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the porous net-shaped orsieve-shaped barrier has an upper surface extending substantiallytransverse to the main direction of growth of the roots.
 3. A growingmaterial according to claim 1, characterized in that the porousnet-shaped or sieve shaped barrier forms a horizontal separating layerin the substrate.
 4. A growing material according to claim 1,characterized that the porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier extendsdownwards in a curving manner from a central crown top into thesubstrate material.
 5. A growing material according to claim 4,characterized in that the porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier inthe area of its crown top is designed so as to be uninterrupted.
 6. Agrowing material according to claim 1, characterized in that theprovisions are anchored, at least embedded in the substrate material ina substantially non-moveable manner.
 7. A growing material according toclaim 1, characterized that the porous net-shaped or sieve-shapedbarrier is provided in the substrate material as locally distributed,embedded obstacles.
 8. A growing material according to claim 7,characterized in that the obstacles have a smooth surface.
 9. A growingmaterial according to claim 7, characterized in that the obstacles havea spherical configuration.
 10. A grow material according to claim 7,characterized in that the obstacles are manufactured from stones, atleast partly.
 11. A growing material according to claim 7, characterizedin that obstacles consist of glass pearls, at least partly.
 12. Agrowing material according to claim 1, characterized that the porousnet-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier is formed from a similar inertmaterial to the substrate, yet has a considerably higher density, i.e.density impenetrable by the roots, than the surrounding substratematerial which does allow the roots through.
 13. A growing materialaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the porous net-shaped orsieve-shaped barrier consist of at least one chemical layer, more inparticular a hormone layer.
 14. A growing material according to claim 1,characterized in that the porous net-shaped or sieve-shaped barrier islocated at least